Harrison Ford 'chatting' about "Blade Runner 2" role

The 71-year-old actor hasn't ruled out speculation he could be returning as bounty hunter Rick Deckard in Sir Ridley Scott's long-awaited follow-up film to his 1982 sci-fi thriller.

He told IGN: ''Yeah, we've been chatting about it. I truly admire Ridley as a man and as a director, and I would be very happy to engage again with him in the further telling of this story.''

Should Ford return, it seems likely he would have a smaller role since Scott, 75, previously said the Hollywood veteran was ''too old'' to star in the sequel and had ruled out the possibility of him reprising the part.

He commented late last year: ''It's not a rumour - [the sequel is] happening. With Harrison Ford? I don't know yet. Is he too old? Well, he was a Nexus-6 so we don't know how long he can live. And that's all I'm going to say at this stage.''

The news is a marked change from the project's initial pitch in August 2011, when Ford's chances of returning were deemed ''quite unlikely'' by Andrew Kosove from Alcon Entertainment.

Ford and Scott famously had a fraught on-set relationship while shooting the first movie, with the 'Stars Wars' actor branding his role as a futuristic cop ''a f**king nightmare''.

He appeared to suggest time had softened the blow, however, and would be willing to team up with Scott again, adding to IGN: ''I remember it with complication, but I'm not there to generate nostalgic moments, I'm there to do a job of work. I quite understand that everybody has an ambition when they come and do a film, and everyone's ambition may not be focused on the same thing.''